Vietnamese Egg Rolls (Chả Giò)

Up close of someone dipping a vietnamese egg roll into dipping sauce.

Vietnamese Egg Rolls (Chả Giò)

Crispy, crunchy, and savory Vietnamese egg rolls or chả giò are the quintessential Vietnamese dish that is perfect as an appetizer, afternoon snack, or a main dish! These Vietnamese egg rolls are made with ground pork, shrimp, carrots, taro, mushrooms, and noodles for the ultimate treat.

Course Appetizer, Appetizer & Sides, Lunch & Dinner Recipes, Main Course, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Vietnamese

Keyword cha gio, cha gio recipe, egg roll, recipe for Vietnamese egg rolls, Vietnamese egg roll

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings servings

Calories 191kcal

Author Megan

Equipment

Ingredients

1 lb ground pork
½ lb shrimp ground
2 large eggs
¾ cup carrot finely shredded
¾ cup taro finely shredded
½ yellow onion minced
½ cup bean thread noodles
½ cup dried wood ear mushrooms chopped
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon chicken broth powder
1 package egg roll wrappers at least 25 wrappers
Vegetable oil for frying

Egg wash

1 large egg beaten

Instructions

Filling

Soften the noodles. In a large bowl, soak the bean thread noodles in hot water until they are soft about 2-3 minutes. Then cut the noodles into 2-inch pieces. Pat dry to remove any excess water
Soak the mushrooms. In a large bowl, soak the dried mushrooms in hot water until they are soft about 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry to remove any excess water. Then roughly chop.
Squeeze excess moisture. Using a cheesecloth, squeeze out all the excess moisture from the shredded carrot, shredded taro, and minced onion.
Combine. In a large bowl, add the pork, shrimp, eggs, shredded carrots, shredded taro, minced onion, chopped mushrooms, chopped noodles, salt, black pepper, sugar, and chicken broth powder. Mix together with a wooden spoon or your hands until combined.
Taste. Place a 1/2 teaspoon of the mixture on a small plate and microwave it for 5-10 seconds until cooked. Taste and see if you want to adjust any of the spices (add more salt, pepper, etc.

Assembly

Lay one egg roll wrapper and place it with one corner pointing towards you like a diamond. Fold the bottom corner about 2/3 of the way up.
Add an even layer of filling across the bottom edge about 2 1/2-3 tablespoons leaving a 1/4 inch gap along the edge.
Fold the left and right corners over the filling. Then tightly roll up until the end. Seal the top corner with egg wash.

Cook

Heat oil. In a heavy bottomed pot, add about 1-2 inches of oil just enough to submerge the egg rolls. Heat on medium-high until it reaches 350°F or 176°C.
Fry. Using a slotted spoon or spider strainer, gently add about 5-6 egg rolls. Be careful to not overcrowd the pot. Fry for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool. Remove the egg rolls with a slotted spoon or spider strainer and place them on a paper towel over a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Squeeze the juice from the carrots, onion, and taro! You do not want your filling to have any more moisture than necessary. Any excess moisture from the filling will result in a less crunchy egg roll down the road. Do not skip the step where you squeeze juices out of the shredded carrots, onion, and taro!
Roll your egg rolls tightly. Any air bubbles or openings will cause the wrapper to fall apart and the filling to explode when deep frying.
Don’t use too much filling. You do not want your cha gio to burst open when you fry them. To prevent this, use just enough filling to cover about 3 1/2 inches across the egg roll wrapper. I used about 2 1/2-3 tablespoons per egg roll. Make sure to shape the filling to be even and uniform.
Use a candy thermometer when frying. If you are new to frying, it is important that you use a candy thermometer and a deep heavy bottomed pan. Since the oil temperature will fluctuate when you add the Vietnamese egg rolls in, a candy thermometer will let you know how hot the oil is.
Carefully watch the egg rolls when frying. This is especially important. It may be difficult to maintain an even temperature the entire time you fry the egg rolls. So keeping a close eye on when the egg rolls begin to turn golden brown will guarantee you won’t overcook the egg rolls. Please note that the cha gio will continue to cook while they cool so they will turn slightly darker after they have been sitting on the wire rack for a few minutes.

Nutrition